Undergraduate Certificate Program on Poverty and Inequality

Sign up to receive information and updates about the Certificate on Poverty and Inequality

The Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality (CPI) monitors and publicizes trends in poverty and inequality, publishes the country's leading magazine on poverty and inequality (Pathways Magazine), supports research on the causes of poverty and inequality, and examines the effects of public policy on poverty and inequality. The Center carries out these activities with ten research groups addressing the following topics: (1) poverty measurement and trends; (2) educational access and achievement; (3) income inequality; (4) social mobility; (5) safety net use; (6) recession and recovery effects; (7) spatial segregation; (8) racial and ethnic inequality; (9) discrimination, poverty, and the labor market; and (10) Hispanic poverty, inequality, and mobility.

The Stanford Certificate in Poverty and Inequality recognizes undergraduates who have developed expertise in one or more of these research areas. The certificate is conferred as soon as the coursework and research requirements listed below are completed. Although the certificate does not appear on an official University transcript, it provides formal recognition of a rigorous program of study in the field of poverty and inequality.

Admission

Applications to the CPI certificate program are available here and may be filed at any time. Admitted students are assigned an advisor who will assist in planning coursework and providing research opportunities within CPI. Please contact CPI (inequality@stanford.edu) with any questions.

Requirements

The student’s course and research plan, which is submitted with the application, should meet the four requirements listed below.

Core Foundation Course (SOC 140. Introduction to Social Stratification (same as SOC 240.)). This required introductory course examines the causes and consequences of poverty, inequality, and mobility. It is available as both a regular and online course.

Research Project. The third requirement is to complete a research paper on poverty or inequality. We invite students to join one of the ten CPI Research Groups and become involved in an ongoing CPI research project that might become the basis for their research paper. It is also acceptable to write an independent research paper rather than joining a CPI Research Group. The research paper may either take the form of a research proposal or an empirical research project based on quantitative or qualitative methods. This paper should be completed while the student is enrolled in Independent Study with a CPI faculty affiliate (go here for a list of CPI faculty affiliates).

Additional Elective. The fourth requirement is to take an “elective course” with a poverty or inequality focus. This requirement may be satisfied by taking an additional foundation course from the list provided above or by taking any of the preapproved elective courses listed below. Additionally, other unlisted courses addressing issues of poverty and inequality may also satisfy this requirement, although such courses require CPI approval (which is requested by submitting our Course Approval Form). It is suggested (but not required) that approval be secured in advance of taking an unlisted course. If a new applicant to the certificate program wishes to count a completed course toward the requirements, that should be indicated on the application form (and, if necessary, the Course Approval Form should be filled out).

List of Preapproved Elective Courses

Poverty
PUBLPOL 240: Designing the Way Up: Disruptive Solutions to Poverty in America
SOC 135: Poverty, Inequality, and Social Policy in the United States (Same as: SOC 235.)
CHEM 24N. Nutrition and History
ECON 11N. Understanding the Welfare System
ECON 106. World Food Economy (Same as: EARTHSYS 106, EESS 106.)